Mystery diagnosis
by Styrlaugr
Summary: Lukas meets Mathias as his health starts to deteriorate. Though he just dismisses the symptoms, his brother and Mathias are worried. But finding out exactly what's wrong, and getting the right diagnosis turns out to be more complicated than just so.


He bit his lip as he was carried through the door to the emergency room. "This really isn't necessary, Tino." He was in an obvious amount of pain, but still tried his best to hide it. "When you refuse to come here by ambulance, you really don't have much of a choice, that knee isn't really right.." Tino might be smaller than him, but he certainly wasn't weaker. Both grimaced as he tried to sit him down in one of the plastic chairs filling up the waiting room; Tino because he was afraid to cause his friend any more pain, Lukas himself because he was in pain. "It's really not because I'm trying to leave you in this situation," Tino was stumbling over his words, "but there is this family thing going on, and my mom might just kill me if I'm late." His eyes were fixed on the floor and his hands were restlessly moving around each other. "you know Finns," he let out a nervous laugh as he trailed off. Lukas reached out with his left hand, the right lying weakly in his lap, though it was clear that the gesture caused him great discomfort. He patted Tino on the arm and gave him the most sincere smile he could muster at the moment. "Go. I'll just call my brother, it's fine, don't worry about it." Tino seemed to weigh his words for a moment, the doubt obviously pulling down. / Mathias let out a sigh and a smile slowly spread across his face as he walked out into the receiving part of the ER. It was late morning, well almost midday. Seeing as he'd been in all night, he was heading home for some sweet, well-deserved sleep. At least that was according to himself, but he clearly remembered that glare one of his patients sent him, when he needed to do some blood work. He was usually very relaxed around kids, but some of them just seemed like they were cursing him to Hell, with black magic, if he went too close with the needle. Needless to say, there were probably some people out there who didn't hope he was going to sleep well at all. Maybe this even worked, for as soon as he scanned the chairs with waiting patients, his gaze fell upon the most stunning figure he'd seen. A lot of different people went through the ER every day, and Mathias had had his share of strangers to look at, but this one really took home the price. He was so struck, he didn't realize he'd completely stopped walking, and almost tripped over an elderly lady. Not that he seemed to notice that either. He might not get home to his bed so soon at all. / Tino was pulling some faces, seemingly not convinced by the other's words. Lukas let out a sigh and let his eyes wander around the room. It wasn't the first time he'd been in this ER. Actually it wasn't even his first time this month. Tino and him worked in the local IKEA, that meant a lot of physical work. And apparently he also had the worst luck in the world, because he kept getting injured. He would normally describe himself as a rather graceful person, but sometimes he would just, out of the blue, walk into a doorframe, drop something, or even trip over the thin air. Though usually when he dropped something, he had very quick reflexes and would catch it again with some ballet move, which just didn't make things any better. Especially not with a smirking younger brother clearly amused by it. "Uhm.. Excuse me?" He blinked a couple of times as his eyes lay upon a young man, cautiously approaching the pair. "I didn't mean to listen in on your conversation, but I just happened to overhear it," he seemed to stumble somewhat over his words like Tino, but he didn't seem like the nervous type, "I mean, I'm not in a hurry, so I could watch over him till his brother gets here..?" He hesitated for a moment, clearly aware of how odd the proposal would seem to most people. The words were directed at Tino, and the guy gave him a bright smile, showing his perfect teeth and harmless nature. Still, Lukas was the one to answer, "that's very nice of you, don't you agree, Tino?" Even if he'd have wanted to argue, he'd already lost the battle. Tino hang his head down as he sighed, then smiled at both of them, sending Lukas a concerned look. "Just be okay. You can always catch me on my phone. Another perk of being a Finn is that your phone always works." Tino's smile was the warmest and most sincere one could imagine. He bid his farewell to his friend and the stranger, and then ran out the door. / Mathias sat down on the armrest of the chair next to the intriguing guy. Even if he would've wanted to, he couldn't wipe the grin from his face. It earned him a slightly confused and questioning look from the other. "You know, you don't have to stay. I just didn't want him to waste his time here." It was clear to Mathias that the guy didn't want him there, but he probably didn't want anyone talking to him at the moment. Pain makes people irritable, as a nurse you quickly learn that about human nature, and he just brushed it off. "I'm really not in a hurry." He was smiling wryly at the floor, obviously more ardent from the lack of sleep. Shaking his head, he tried to stay at least somewhat professional, though the other didn't seem too fond of hospitals, so he made a mental note not to tell that he actually worked there. As the guy stayed silent, he gave him a onceover. His hair was a bit longer than most, and looked impossible soft. It had that Nordic blond colour, which many used bleach to achieve, though judging from the roots, this was natural. Mathias himself had the darker and more common equivalent. His was also very thick, so he could style it in all these impossible ways. He was thin and tall, though not as tall as Mathias himself, but his limbs seemed to be rather long. He furrowed his brow. He really reminded him of an elf. Maybe that was why he'd stopped when he saw him, and why he now sat here, instead of going home to his soft bed. He'd always been obsessed with fairytales and mythology. "Shouldn't you call you brother…?" He suddenly seemed to remember the conversation he'd overheard. The guy turned to look at him, sending him the same annoyed glare. "He's in school, I hardly see the point in him coming here." He looked as though he was trying to explain this obvious fact to a moron. His face seemed so perfect, but the ever present frown was like static. It messed with the clear picture. "Then how will you get home? I doubt you'll be able to walk on that straight away." He made a motion towards his clearly dislocated knee. "I can't judge if you were born under a rock, but there's such a thing as public transport." Mathias smiled a bit brighter at this. For some reason he didn't sound as rude as he probably would have wanted to. Mathias might be a bit of a moron, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was reading people. Maybe this was the fact that also made him ignore all the common social rules. / Lukas wasn't really sure what he should think of this random guy, who just decided to be his friend and stand-in family member. He was in the ER. Hospitals always made his skin crawl. This really wasn't the best place to start new relations. He had to admit, though, that he wasn't bad looking. He seemed rather charming. It really messed up his already confusing state of pain and fear and annoyance. Not that any of that would be clear to anyone else. He'd always been rather stoic and natural at keeping his emotions in check. "Lukas Bondevik?" His name was called by a man who'd just come through one of the doors to an examine room. Lukas looked up instantly and pushed himself up from the chair, trying to stand just on his right leg. He was stubborn and determined; he could make it to the door just fine. Though his body seemed to have another agenda, because as soon as he stood, his vision went completely black and he could feel himself grow dizzy and weak. Then he fell. / Mathias kept his curious gaze on the other. He reacted when the next name was called, standing up. Mathias stood up as well; he really doubted that 'Lukas' would make it very far in the condition he was in. He was right to assume so, for Lukas' gaze instantly lost its focus and his body swayed a bit before Mathias stepped in and caught him in his arms. By then he was out cold. Mathias sent the guy in his arms a concerned look. He felt even lighter than he looked. For some reason this really freaked him out. This suddenly felt a whole lot more personal than any of his normal patients. There was something about this 'Lukas'. Something intriguing he just couldn't dismiss. / Eirik was slumped over his desk, staring blankly at the blackboard. Their assignment had been to write an essay. Seeing as these types of essays reflect your personal view, often on philosophical matters, no one seemed too keen on reading theirs aloud. Thus the teacher had made then write yet another essay, about why they didn't want to read their essays for the rest of the class. The teacher had then left them, and Eirik had finished in a matter of ten minutes, leaving him incredibly bored. He turned to look at the Asian guy who sat next to him, still furiously scribbling away on a piece of paper. "How come you're for once not using your computer?" Eirik lifted his eyebrow as he asked his friend, "Could it be that you're betting on your handwriting being so illegible that you won't have to risk reading this out as well?" Xiang met his friend's smirking eyes and chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Oh! But I would /never/ do such a thing!" He said with a gasp, voice riddled with sarcasm. "Also, is that your phone ringing in your pocket, or are you just excited about seeing me?" The smirk never leaving his voice nor face. Eirik put up a finger, indicating for the other to hold on a second. Pulling out his phone he furrowed his brow as he saw his brother's caller-ID. That was odd. Lukas never called when he knew Eirik was in school. He was very serious about his younger brother concentrating on his education. He hit the answer button and held the phone to his ear, ready with an excuse explaining why he had time to answer in class. "Hello? Is this Lukas' brother?" Eirik was silent for a second, now extremely confused as to why a stranger was calling from his brother's phone. What could have happened? They might not appear to, but the brothers cared deeply for each other, seeing as they only had one another. "Who the fuck are you?" Eirik's answer came so quick, Xiang gave him a quizzical look, not being able to hear the second half of the conversation. "I'm calling from the hospital, your brother had a slight accident. Don't worry, he's just fine." Eirik tuned out halfway through the sentence and paled, which was seriously saying something. He lingered at one word in particular. He was so not a fan of hospitals. / Mathias was lounging on the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room, as Lukas came out of a door. He was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing the most irritated expression Mathias had seen in a long while. He couldn't help but laugh as he stood, walking across the room to meet him. "That's some fancy accessory you've got there," he joked, chuckling. Lukas looked rather unimpressed by his humor and turned around, taking off the cane attached to the back. "They can keep it, it doesn't match my eyes," he countered, standing slowly, his left hand gripping the head of the cane as he tried to keep his balance. "You know.." Mathias hesitated a bit, "I'm not a doctor, but I think they give you a wheelchair for a reason. Of course I can't be certain, but I'm assuming it's because they don't think it'd be such a great idea for you to walk just yet." There was a note of sarcasm, but it was clear the worry was genuine. "They also gave me a cane. I can walk." Lukas shot him a glare and be began walking towards the exit on wobbly legs. And cane. / "Lukas!" He was mere steps from the door as his younger brother burst through them. "…Eirik..?" He blinked in confusing. He was certain he hadn't informed him that he was here. There was a reason for him not to. Eirik needed to focus on school; he shouldn't have to worry about his brother. "Oh yeah!" the stranger from before exclaimed as he stepped up to the siblings, "I called your brother because that seemed like the responsible thing to do," he pointed a thumb at Eirik, shrugging, "Also that reminds me!" He fished Lukas' phone from his pocket and held it out to him, only to correct his own action and give it to Eirik instead. "Seeing as you have no hands," he explained, again shrugging. Lukas started at the guy in utter confusion. This guy just turned up out of the blue, took his phone, called his brother, and joked with him as though they'd be friends forever. "Excuse me, but who are you even?" "He's Mathias." Lukas turned to look at his brother who'd spoken up, giving him a puzzled stare as well. "What?" Eirik asked like only a true teenager could, "I talked to him on the phone, remember?" Lukas gave Mathias a cross look. Who did he think he was? "Well then Mathias is the guy who's supposed to mind his own damn business." At this the other simply shook his head, grinning. "You're mistaken. Mathias is the guy with the car who's going to drive you two home." Lukas took a deep breath. A ride home was more than he could have asked for really, it'd be stupid to decline such an offer. "Fine," he would've crossed his arms if he could, instead he simply walked out the door, glaring back at Mathias, "but I owe you nothing." As they were walking towards the car in a slow pace, so Lukas could keep up, he could feel Mathias studying him. "What?" He turned his head, quirking a brow at the other man. Mathias chuckled at this and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, for someone on pain-meds, you sure are grumpy." Lukas rolled his eyes. "Have you ever heard of the TV series, 'House'?" Mathias tried his luck again. "Shut it." 


End file.
